At the 2009 Grammy Awards, three men took the stage to present Best Rock Album of the Year. But before the winner was announced, they had something to say. In front of a hushed crowd of thousands of people the smallest of the three, with his left arm in a sling, drummer Travis Barker, calmly said, “We used to play music together and we decided that we will play music together again.”
“Blink-182 is back,” Mark Hoppus, bass player for the band, said.
“When I heard Blink-182 was getting back together, I was pretty excited,” Rob Benedickson, freshman marketing major, said. “I’ve been a Blink fan since the third grade.”
The band, which also features guitarist Tom Delonge, had a very successful career in the late ’90s all the way until early 2005. On Feb. 22, 2005, the band announced on their Web site that they will be taking an indefinite hiatus.
It later came out that the reason behind the split was an argument between the three. The details were never clearly told but in the end a rift was formed that left Hoppus and Barker on one side and Delonge on the other.
Hoppus and Barker went on to form the Blink-sound alike band +44. Although not as popular as Blink, +44 left their fans satisfied but still wanting more.
“I never really listened to their other bands,” Courtney Byelick, junior English and communications and philosophy major, said. “I just never got into them.”
Angels and Airwaves was the brainchild of Delonge that was conceived weeks after the break up. It houses all of Delonge’s creative energy where he channels his emotions, feelings and love through his songs.
“I wasn’t a big fan of Angels and Airwaves, but I really like +44,” Benedickson said. “They reminded me so much of Blink, but it just wasn’t the same without Tom Delonge.”
On Sept. 19, 2008, Barker was involved in a plane crash that left four dead and Barker and a friend covered in burns. Almost losing a friend was what brought the three back together.
“I was glad to hear that Travis survived the crash,” Benedickson said. “I never really thought about how it could have been a factor, but I’m sure it must have been a big one.”
The band is currently in the process of writing a record and putting together a summer tour.
“It’s all really exciting,” Tom Walsh, junior philosophy major, said. “Their old stuff is awesome and I can’t wait to get my hands on their new CD.”
